1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of open source versus commercial software?

A big strength of open source in synchronous learning is that everyone has access and it is inexpensive or free. A big weakness is, because of the low or no cost there’s minimal technical support, if any at all. With commercial software the strength is the customer and technical support but with that, the weakness is that there’s typically a cost.

2. When would an open source application take precedence over a commercial product?

An open source application may take precedence over a commercial product when a company is trying to grow it’s customers or students. With a paid software, that may decrease amount of customers, participants or students.

3. What are the issues when choosing between Open Source vs. Commercial Software?

Money is a big issue when choosing between open source and a  commercial software. Another issue to look at are the available features. Often times, commercial software like BlackBoard have a free open source but with limited capabilities and features. Another issue that may come up is support, with commercial software having more available, or better quality, than open source.